English tutoring in the Jungle of Mentawai

Thank you for visiting our fundraiser.

My name is Johan Ronnestam (@ronnestam on Instagram).

I'm helping my friend Xave with this fundraiser.

I'm a frequent traveler to the remote islands of Mentawai, Indonesia. In these remote islands, the Mentawai people live far away from our civilization. They live in small villages where people struggle to maintain their culture while ensuring that generations can lead healthy and prosperous lives.

The indigenous inhabitants of the islands are known as the Mentawai people. I've come to love the culture these people uphold. They still live in symbiosis with nature and traditions. The Mentawai people live a semi-nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle in the coastal and rainforest environments of the islands and are also one of the oldest tribes in Indonesia.

About five years ago, I became friends with a local Mentawai man named Xave Sekeletuk. Xave is passionate about his culture and cares a lot for the future of the Mentawai people. Since about three years back Xave, with the support of me and others, has built a simple yet functional Uma (House in the local language) where he teaches English to local children.

Learning English is essential to the kids of Mentawai. English is necessary if you want to interact with visitors and tourists. By learning English, the kids are given a much better chance to lead a good life in the future.

To give Xave a better chance to educate these kids and ultimately provide the kids with a better future, I've created this fundraiser to gather funds for renovations, books and other tutoring material.